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phone in hand.
    “You what ?”
    When I see my mom’s expression it’s like when you’re at the beach and you see that really huge wave coming toward you, and you don’t know if you should try to ride it or dive under, and if you hesitate too long, you get nailed by it. I wait a second too long to answer and Mom goes nuclear.
    “Breanna Marie Connors, what part of ‘hang tight and stay inside’ didn’t you understand? I told you to stay in the house and make sure Liam did, too. Simple instructions. Not rocket science.”
    It’s so unfair. Liam was the one who disobeyed Mom first, but I get the grief. And she makes out like I’m stupid, as usual.
    “Liam wouldn’t listen ! I told him you said to stay in, and he completely ignored me and walked straight out the door! He’s the one who went out first.”
    “Is that true?” Mom turns to Liam, who’s still leaning against the doorjamb.
    He glares back at her defiantly. “Yeah. They’re our friends, right? I thought they might need help. Isn’t that what friends are supposed to do?”
    Mom’s lips purse, and I know he’s got her there. Sure, Lara and I have drifted apart, but at least on the surface my parents and the Kelleys are still friendly.
    “ Helping doesn’t mean taking pictures and posting them on Facebook,” Mom snaps.
    “I wouldn’t do that,” Liam says, not hiding his disgust with me. He nods in my direction. “That’s Miss ‘I’ll Do Anything No Matter How Sick to Get Likes on Facebook.’ ”
    Mom takes off her suit jacket, slowly and deliberately, and I feel acid in the back of my throat, because I know I’m about to be hit by another wave of her anger any moment.
    “Liam, I need to speak to your sister privately,” she says.
    Here it comes.
    “Wait … before I go, I wanted to tell you … I texted Syd, and Lara’s awake,” Liam says.
    I feel tears well up, but this time they’re ones of relief. “That’s … so great to hear,” I say. “Thanks for letting me know, Li.”
    “Yes, it is,” Mom agrees, looking at me from the corner of her eye.
    “Mrs. Kelley is talking to the police,” Liam adds, like it’s just some random factoid that’s he’s just happening to mention.
    That is so NOT great news.
    “What do you mean, the police?” I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.
    Liam looks at me like I’m some kind of an idiot.
    “The police always ask questions in the event of a suicide attempt, Bree,” Mom says, giving me a hush-up look.
    “Syd says it’s because of some guy named Christian. Did you see what he wrote on her wall?”
    The sound that comes from the back of my throat escapes despite my attempt to stifle it.
    “Don’t tell me you’re friends with that guy, Bree,” Liam says. “What a jerk!”
    “Christian who?” Mom asks. Her voice is calm, almost nonchalant. Like she’s never heard of anyone named Christian, ever.
    “Christian DeWitt. He wrote all this sick stuff on Lara’s page, Mom,” Liam replies.
    My eyes are trained on the point where the wooden table leg meets the floor. It’s where food and dust bunnies collect if you don’t clean the floor enough, which sometimes Mom doesn’t because she’s too busy at work, so she makes me do it. Once, I did a halfhearted job of sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor, and that’s the first place she checked because she knew I’d do a lousy job because “that’s the kind of kid you are.” As in I’m not a “go-getter who makes her own luck” like she is, so I’m “never going to get anywhere in this world.” She knew all that because of two missed Cheerios and a small dust bunny.
    If I keep my eyes focused on that spot, they can’t give anything away.
    “I know this is very unsettling, Liam, but Lara has never been the most stable girl, has she?” Mom says. “Remember what a mess she was in middle school?”
    Mom’s finished unloading the groceries, and she takes out the chopping board and a knife to start preparing dinner.
    “To